Keresdrakon

Last updated

Keresdrakon
Temporal range: Aptian-Albian
125–100.5  Ma
Keresdrakon holotype.jpg
holotype specimen
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Suborder: Pterodactyloidea
Clade: Azhdarchoidea
Genus: Keresdrakon
Kellner et al. 2019
Type species
Keresdrakon vilsoni
Kellner et al. 2019

Keresdrakon is an extinct genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Goio-Erê Formation of Brazil, which dates back to the Early Cretaceous period (Aptian-Albian stages), 125 to 100.5 million years ago. Keresdrakon contains a single species, Keresdrakon vilsoni. [2]

Contents

Discovery

In 1971, Alexandre Dobruski and his son João Gustavo Dobruski, discovered a fossil site near Cruzeiro do Oeste in Paraná. Only in 2011, paleontologists Paulo César Manzig and Luiz C. Weinschütz visited the location. A bone bed proved to be present with hundreds of specimens of a pterosaur that in 2014 was named Caiuajara . Among them were some bones belonging to a second pterosaur species. These remains, both of Caiuajara and the new taxon, were prepared by volunteer Vilson Greinert. [2]

In 2019, the type species Keresdrakon vilsoni was named and described by Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner, Luiz Carlos Weinschütz, Borja Holgado, Renan Alfredo Machado Bantim and Juliana Manso Sayão. The generic name combines the Keres, evil spirits from Greek mythology, with the Greek drakon, "dragon". The specific name honors Greinert. As the name appeared in an electronic publication, Life Science Identifiers were needed for its validity. These were E26A65E0-2859-4CD3-B773-B99D568D366C for the genus and 8358C917-6C12-4390-AAB8-37D82723BBCD for the species. [2]

The holotype, CP.V 2069, was found in bonebed C, a sandstone layer. The strata in which the fossils have been discovered were initially thought to belong to the Rio Paraná Formation but later were assigned to the Goio-Erê Formation. The age of this formation is disputed; it could be as old as the Aptian but also as young as the Campanian. The holotype consists of a partial skeleton with skull. It contains the snout, a quadrate bone, the lower jaws, two neck vertebrae, four back vertebrae, the breastbone, belly ribs, the right shoulderblade, two humeri, a radius, two thighbones, a shinebone, the left ilium, the right pubic bone and the left ischium. The skeleton is not articulated. The bones have largely been three-dimensionally preserved, with little compression, and represent a subadult individual. Additional material from the same bonebed was assigned to the taxon as paratypes and referred material. [2]

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic analysis in the description recovered Keresdrakon as a tapejaromorph azhdarchoid, as the sister taxon to the rest of the clade. [2]

Azhdarchoidea

Azhdarchidae

Chaoyangopteridae

Tapejaromorpha

Keresdrakon vilsoni

Tapejaridae
Thalassodrominae

Thalassodromeus sethi

Tupuxuara leonardii

Tapejarinae

Caupedactylus ybaka

Aymberedactylus cearensis

Eopteranodon lii

"Huaxiapterus" benxiensis

"Huaxiapterus" corollatus

Sinopterus dongi

Tapejarini

Europejara olcadesorum

Caiuajara dobruskii

Tapejara wellnhoferi

Tupandactylus imperator

A 2022 study by Rodrigo Pêgas and colleagues recovered Keresdrakon as the sister taxon to Alanqa in a basal position among azhdarchoids. [3]

Tapejaroidea

Dsungaripteridae

Azhdarchoidea

Tapejaridae

Azhdarchomorpha
Alanqidae

Alanqa

Keresdrakon

Chaoyangopteridae

Radiodactylus

Azhdarchidae

Ecology

The fossils of Keresdrakon were found in direct association with the tapejarid Caiuajara and the noasaurid theropod Vespersaurus , confirming that these species were sympatric. Among pterosaurs, this is the first direct evidence of sympatry, i.e. direct association instead of being found in the same stratigraphic unit. Of the three taxa in the bone beds, Caiuajara is the most common, and Keresdrakon is the least common. The lizard Gueragama was also likely part of this paleocommunity. Sedimentological data indicates that the environment of the Goio-Erê Formation was a desert, and the azhdarchid-like rostrum of Keresdrakon implies it may have been an opportunistic predator in this environment. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Dsungaripterus</i> Genus of dsungaripterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Dsungaripterus is a genus of dsungaripterid pterosaur with an average wingspan of 3 meters (9.8 ft). Dsungaripterus lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now China, and its first fossil was found in the Tugulu Group the Junggar Basin.

<i>Cearadactylus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Cearadactylus is a genus of large anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Romualdo Formation of Brazil, South America. Fossil remains of Cearadactylus dated back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 112 million years ago. The only known species is C. atrox, described and named in 1985 by Giuseppe Leonardi and Guido Borgomanero. The name refers to the Brazilian state Ceará, and combines this with Greek daktylos, "finger", a reference to the wing finger of pterosaurs. The Latin atrox means "frightful", a reference to the fearsome dentition of the species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapejaridae</span> Family of azhdarchoid pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period

Tapejaridae are a family of pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period. Members are currently known from Brazil, England, Hungary, Morocco, Spain, the United States, and China. The most primitive genera were found in China, indicating that the family has an Asian origin.

<i>Eopteranodon</i> Genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Eopteranodon is a genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipiao City, Liaoning, China. The genus was named in 2005 by paleontologists Lü Junchang and Zhang Xingliao. The type species is Eopteranodon lii.

<i>Chaoyangopterus</i> Genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Chaoyangopterus is a genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur known from a partial skeleton found in Liaoning, China. Chaoyangopterus was found in rocks dating back to the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Dapingfang, Chaoyang.

<i>Jidapterus</i> Genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Jidapterus is a genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. The genus was in 2003 named by Dong Zhiming, Sun Yue-Wu and Wu Shao-Yuan. The type species is Jidapterus edentus. The genus name is derived from Jílín Dàxué or "Jilin University" and a Latinized Greek pteron, "wing". The specific name means "toothless" in Latin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheiroidea</span> Clade of pterodactyloid pterosaurs

Ornithocheiroidea is a group of pterosaurs within the extinct suborder Pterodactyloidea. They were typically large pterosaurs that lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, with fossil remains found all over the world except Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azhdarchoidea</span> Superfamily of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs

Azhdarchoidea is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea, more specifically within the group Ornithocheiroidea. Pterosaurs belonging to this group lived throughout the Early and Late Cretaceous periods, with one tentative member, Tendaguripterus, that lived in the Late Jurassic period. The largest azhdarchoids include members of the family Azhdarchidae, examples of these are Quetzalcoatlus, Hatzegopteryx, and Arambourgiania. The Azhdarchoidea has been recovered as either closely related to the Ctenochasmatoidea, as the sister taxon of the Pteranodontoidea within the Ornithocheiroidea, or within the Tapejaroidea, which in turn was also within the Ornithocheiroidea.

<i>Shenzhoupterus</i> Genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Shenzhoupterus is a genus of chaoyangopterid pterosaur from the Jiufotang Formation of modern-day Liaoning, China. Fossil remains of Shenzhoupterus date back to the Early Cretaceous period, approximately 120 million years ago.

Hongshanopterus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning, China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaoyangopteridae</span> Family of azhdarchoid pterosaurs

Chaoyangopteridae is a family of pterosaurs within the larger group Azhdarchoidea. Chaoyangopterids lived mostly during the Early Cretaceous period, though possible members, Microtuban, Xericeps and Argentinadraco, may extend the fossil range to the Late Cretaceous.

<i>Guidraco</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period

Guidraco is an extinct genus of toothed pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, northeast China. According to many recent studies, Guidraco is a member of the group Anhanguerinae, a subfamily belonging to the larger group Anhangueridae.

<i>Caupedactylus</i> Genus of tapejarid pterosaur form the Early Cretaceous

Caupedactylus is an extinct genus of tapejarid azhdarchoid pterosaur known from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Romualdo Formation of the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil. The type and only species of Caupedactylus is Caupedactylus ybaka.

<i>Caiuajara</i> Genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous

Caiuajara is an extinct genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of Brazil. It is known from a single type species, Caiuajara dobruskii.

<i>Maaradactylus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Maaradactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous period of the Romualdo Formation of northeastern Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapejaroidea</span> Clade of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs

Tapejaroidea is a group of pterosaurs belonging to the clade Ornithocheiroidea. Tapejaroids lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, with one possible member, Tendaguripterus, extending the fossil range to the Late Jurassic period. Tapejaroidea contains two groups, the Dsungaripteridae and the Azhdarchoidea, which in turn includes the azhdarchids, the group that contains some of the largest flying animals. The group was named by Brazilian paleontologist Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner in 1996.

<i>Vespersaurus</i> Genus of noasaurine theropod dinosaur

Vespersaurus is a genus of noasaurid theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous Rio Paraná Formation in the Paraná Basin, Brazil. The type and only species is V. paranaensis, which would have lived in the giant prehistoric Botucatu Desert.

The Goio-Erê Formation is a geological formation in Brazil. It is sometimes thought to be deposited between the Turonian and Campanian stages of the Late Cretaceous, but an Aptian-Albian date has also been proposed. It primarily consists of sandstone and was deposited in a desert environment. It is known for its exceptional 3-D preservation of fossils, which include those of the pterosaurs Keresdrakon and Caiuajara, the dinosaur Berthasaura as well as the iguanian lizard Gueragama. It is laterally equivalent to the Rio Paraná Formation.

<i>Berthasaura</i> Genus of noasaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period

Berthasaura is a genus of noasaurid ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous Goio-Erê Formation of Paraná, Brazil. The type and only species is Berthasaura leopoldinae.

<i>Huaxiadraco</i> Genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period

Huaxiadraco is a genus of tapejarid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China. It is the third valid genus of tapejarid from the Jehol Biota, after Sinopterus and Eopteranodon. It contains one species, Huaxiadraco corollatus, originally assigned to the defunct genus Huaxiapterus.

References

  1. Pêgas, R. V.; Zhoi, X.; Jin, X.; Wang, K.; Ma, W. (2023). "A taxonomic revision of the Sinopterus complex (Pterosauria, Tapejaridae) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, with the new genus Huaxiadraco". PeerJ. 11. e14829. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14829 . PMC   9922500 .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kellner, Alexander W. A.; Weinschütz, Luiz C.; Holgado, Borja; Bantim, Renan A. M.; Sayão, Juliana M. (August 19, 2019). "A new toothless pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea) from Southern Brazil with insights into the paleoecology of a Cretaceous desert". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 91 (suppl 2): e20190768. doi: 10.1590/0001-3765201920190768 . ISSN   0001-3765. PMID   31432888.
  3. Pêgas RV, Holgado B, Ortiz David LD, Baiano MA, Costa FR (2022). "On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy". Cretaceous Research. 129: Article 104998. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104998. S2CID   238725853.